1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system for uniformly delivering human body coating compositions. More particularly, one aspect of the invention relates to methods and apparatus for automating the spray coating process using a vertically traveling spray carriage to simulate motion of a handheld airbrush sprayer. Another aspect of the invention relates to a bottle having a keying mechanism for insertion into a receptacle having a corresponding key structure.
2. History of Related Art
Spray devices for the application of liquids onto human skin and hair are well known. Sprays are used for many types of medicines, hair treatments, deodorants, lotions, and cosmetic agents. The most common devices for spray applications onto the human body are hand-held sprayers, both for self-application and application by another person. Recently automated spray systems have been introduced and are used primarily by tanning salons for applications of sunless tanning liquids. Hand-held sprayers, when used correctly by a trained technician, provide the optimal tan. Automated systems allow for privacy and reduced operating costs. This present invention provides an automated system that applies spray with the motion of a handheld airbrush sprayer to achieve significantly improved results.
A primary disadvantage of hand-held air-brush systems is that it is difficult for a person to self-apply an even coat to certain body portions, such as onto the back. To achieve optimal results professional salons and spas offer trained sunless-tanning applicator personnel to apply material carefully over the entire body of the customer. A trained operator can apply a very uniform spray over the body, achieving results superior to conventional automated systems. However, this situation is often inconvenient and uncomfortable for both the personnel and the customer. In addition, since hand-held airbrush applications usually take 10 to 30 minutes, the process can be irritating to the tanning applicator and the customer due to prolonged exposure to the spray environment. Fatigue is also known to occur in the back, arms, and wrists of applicator personnel due to the repetitive motion of the hand-held air-brushing process.
Applications of cosmetic agents, such as sunless tanning compounds, with hand-held spray devices require very experienced personnel to avoid mistakes which may result in under- or over-application, missed areas, streaks, and runs. The need for the trained applicator significantly increases the cost of a sunless tan. Another drawback that limits the practicality and marketplace potential of hand-held cosmetic sprays in which an assistant is needed is the potential inconvenience and embarrassment to the person being coated, since they must stand for the duration of the application in an unclothed or partially unclothed state. A further disadvantage of hand-held air-brush systems is that the liquid containers are of an inappropriate size, often being too large or too small, to coat an entire person or selected parts of a person. In addition, the refilling process for such devices can be messy.
Automated systems for self-application of a spray mist to the entire body have recently been introduced for sunless tanning to overcome the deficiencies of hand-held applications. There is also interest in automated spray systems for medicines and decontamination agents. (See, Law and Cooper, 2000 Institute of Physics, Edinburgh, Scotland UK). These automated systems, often housed within cabinets or booths to permit enclosure of an adult, have the advantage of uniform self-application in a private setting without the need for an assistant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,333 to Laughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,081 to Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,122 to Parker et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,164 to Parker et al. each describe automated systems for coating the human body in which a spray chamber is used. Several companies now manufacture these automated spray systems, to be used in tanning salons, for the purpose of more evenly applying sunless tanning compounds to the human skin. This new UV-free tanning method offers an alternative to salon customers who do not tan well in UV light or who do not wish to use conventional sun-lamp tanning beds. When used correctly, these sunless tanning systems are effective and consequently have been steadily increasing in popularity in tanning salons in many countries. The tanning solution most often used is water-based, containing up to 10% DHA (dihydroxyacetone), alcohol, aloe vera gel and coloring.
Most of these spray-tanning systems are configured within some type of booth enclosure. In current systems many nozzles are used, positioned at various angles around the subject in an effort to apply an even coating. Because of the inadequate automated coating process the customer is instructed to move through a variety of poses during the spray event which usually lasts less than a minute. Other automated spray devices for sunless tanning make use of fixed nozzles on a rotating drum to create spray movement over the subject in an effort to further enhance spray coverage. Other spray systems use vertically moving spray booms with fixed multiple nozzles, the liquid being fed to the multiple spray nozzles on the boom through a long hose connected to an electric liquid pump with an inlet from a large solution tank. In these cases several nozzles are fixed to a horizontal spray bar and the entire bar is moved. Many nozzles are needed in these systems to achieve uniform coating onto the human subject. Some systems have as many as 40 nozzles and most need at least 10 to achieve a minimally satisfactory result. In practice, the many nozzles needed cause maintenance issues that can be overwhelming for the typical salon technician and the quality of the tan is severely diminished when each of the nozzles is not spraying correctly.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,982,509 describes a sprayer carrier device which moves up and down to apply a treatment media to a body. However, U.S. Pat. No. 1,982,509 does not provide for the use of a cartridge or receptacle or removable or multiple liquid containers. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 1,982,509 does provide for horizontal motion or other oscillating motion of the nozzle which is desirable to optimize spray coverage uniformity.
In present systems, several spray nozzles are fed from an electric pump from a single large tank containing sunless tanning solution. These automatic spray systems are designed to dispense approximately five to ten tanning sessions per liter of liquid, and generally use a feeder-tank capacity of eight to twenty liters. Since each customer's dose is drawn from a common tank, the customer has no assurance of the amount applied, nor do they have a choice of the type of lotion to be applied for a certain skin type or desired tanning color. It is not currently practical to adapt present automatic systems to dispense a single dosage from an individually sized container because of the wasted volume of spray liquid that resides in the many hoses that are required to feed each of the many spray nozzles. These systems also use electrically operated liquid pumps which are impractical to adapt for a cartridge system due to the need to purge the pump and pump lines between spray sessions.
The various embodiments of the present invention provide for a self-application spray device having an insertable, lower volume liquid container closely connected to a nozzle system and of a size allowing a customer to dispense an appropriate volume of spray solution of their choice. In addition the present invention provides for automatic motion of the nozzle to simulate that which is achieved by a hand-held spraying device.